Stringed musical instrument.



No. 730,581. y PATBNTBD JUNI; 9, 190s.

H. STBBNBOGK.

STRINGBD MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED APB.. 24, 1902.

H0 MODEL. 2 SHBETS-SHEET l.

JZ [3 3 I W/TNESSES. /NVENTH N0. 730,581. PATBNTNU JUNE 9, 1903. H. STEBNBOGK. STNINGBD MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLIATION FILED APR. 24, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

me Nnnms Evans co.. vwo'muwc. WASHINGTON, n. c

UNITED STATES Patented June 9, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 730,581, dated June 9, 1903.

Application filed April 24. 1902. Serial No. 104,508. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that l, HENRY STEENBOCK, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Stringed Musical Instrument, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to Zithers and like musical instruments having strings sounded by hammers actuated by keys, such as are shown, for instance, in the Letters Patent of the United States No. 678,525,granted to me July i6, 1901.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved stringed musical instrument arranged to allow the hammers to strike the strings from underneath with any desired force and without danger of dislocating the strings and without causing the instrument to get easily out of tune.

Theinvention consists ofnovel features and parts and combinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinatterand then pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the Views.

Figure lis a plan view of the improvement, part being broken out. Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse section of the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. l, and Fig. 3 ,is asectional side elevation of the same on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

The stringed musical instrument is preferably in the form of a Zither provided with a resounding-chamber or main body A, having its sides formed with extensions A' at the front end of theresounding-chamber, the side extensions supporting a pin-block A2, located a distance above the top surface of the resounding-chamber A and somewhat beyond the front end thereof, as is plainly illustrated in Fig. 2. This pin-block A2 is provided at its front with the pins B for holding the front ends of the strings C, extending from the said pins B downward over the bridges D and D', of which the latter is located on the under side of the pin-block A2, (see Fig. 2,) the strings then extending under the pin-block and over the resounding-chamber A to finally pass over the rear bridges E to the tuning-pills l?. The Zither thus constructed is removably held in a frame G, formed in its front portion with a recess into which extends the frontend of the resounding-chamber A and the side eXtensions A', and this recess contains the hammeraction for sounding the strings C. The hammer-action consists, preferably, of hammers H, fulcruxned at H' and provided at their fulcrum ends with cam-surfaces H2, adapted to be engaged by cam-surfaces I on keys I, fulcrumed at I2 and provided with finger-pieces 13, extending to the outside of the frame, at the front end thereof, to be within convenient reach of the lingers of the player. Rails J J limit the up-and-down swinging movement of the keys I. Now when a finger-piece I3 is pressed, the key I imparts an upward swinging motion to the corresponding hammer H, so that the latter sounds the corresponding string or group ot' strings. Now by the arrangement described the hammers H strike the strings C at the under side thereof, below the pin-block A2,so that the strings are pressed firmly against the bridge D instead of from the same, as is the case in the instruments heretofore constructed and sounded from below with the strings passing over the pinblock instead of underneath the same. Thus lthe strings are not likely to be dislocated on as the strings pass directly beneath the pinblock, and thus receive the sound when the strings are sounded by the hammers.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. A stringed musical instrument having a resounding-chamber, and a pin-block extending above the top of the resounding-chamber and projecting beyond the front end.

IOO

thereof, forthe strings to pass under the pinblock and over the resounding-chamber, as set forth.

A stringed musical instrument having a resounding-chamber, and a pin-block extending above the top of the resounding-chamber and projecting beyond the front end thereof, pins on said pin-block for holding the front ends of the strings, and a bridge on the under side of the pin-block for the strings to pass across the bridge and under the pinblock and then over the resounding-charnber, as set forth.

3. A stringed musical instrument provided With a resounding-chamber having side extensions projecting beyond its front end, a pin-block secured to the side extensions and having its under side arranged in a plane above the top surface of said resoundingchamber, pins on said pin-block for the front ends of the strings, and a bridge on the under side of the pin-block for the strings to pass across the bridge, under the pin-block and over the resounding-cham ber, as set forth.

4. A stringed musical instrument comprising a frame formed in its front portion with 'a recess, a hammer-action mounted on the frame and extending in said recess, a resounding-chamber carried by the frame and having its sides extended forwardly beyond the front end thereof and projecting into the said recess, and a pin-block secured on the extended sides of the resounding-chamber and spanning the strings extending over the resounding-chamber and beyond the front end thereof, as set forth.

5. Astringed musicalinstrument comprising a frame formed in its front portion with a recess, a hammer-action mounted on the frame and extending in said recess, a. re-

sounding-chamber carried by the frame and having its sides extended forwardly beyond the front end thereof and projecting into said recess, and a pin-block secured on the extended sides of the resounding-chamber and spanning the strings extending over the resounding-chamber and beyond the front end thereof, said pin-block carrying the pins for the front ends of the strings, and a bridge for the strings to pass over, as set forth.

6. The combination with a Zither or like instrument having its strings projecting beyond front end of its resounding-chamber, of a recessed frame into which the projecting ends of the strings and the front end of the resounding-chamber of the instrument project, and a hammer-action mounted in the re-V cess of the frame, as set forth.

7. The combination with a Zither or like instrument having its strings projecting beyond the front end of the resounding-chamber and below the lower face of the pin-block, of a recessed frame into which the projecting ends of the strings and the resounding-chain ber project, and a hammer-action in the recess of said frame, as set forth.

8. The combination with a Zither orlike instrument having its strings projecting beyond the front end of the resounding-chamber and below the lower face of the pinblock, of a frame inwhich one end of the instrument is removably held, and a hammeraction in said frame, assetforth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HENRY STEENBOCK.

Witnesses:

THEO. G. HosTER, EVERARD BOLTON MARSHALL. 

